Relationships between the forest dwelling people of South-West Mau and tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus

Abstract

A brief study was carried out in South-West Mau region of the Mau Forest Complex in March 1993. The primary aim was to assess the importance of the tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus (A. Smith, 1827), to the local forest-dwelling people as a source of food and medicine and in their spiritual traditions, while investigating the effect of the human exploitation on hyrax population size. Interviewing the predominantly Okiek hunters also provided an opportunity to learn something of the ecology of this poorly understood species.

Journal of East African Natural History Vol. 83 (1) 1994: pp. 17-29